Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) Price Target Raised to $145.00

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Citigroup from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the medical research company’s stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 5.27% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on DGX. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Quest Diagnostics from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. SVB Leerink started coverage on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $135.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Quest Diagnostics from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Quest Diagnostics in a report on Monday, February 26th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.25.

Quest Diagnostics Price Performance

NYSE:DGX traded up $1.04 on Wednesday, hitting $137.74. The company had a trading volume of 871,816 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,054,811. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.39, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $128.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.03. Quest Diagnostics has a 52 week low of $119.59 and a 52 week high of $148.62.

Quest Diagnostics (NYSE:DGX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 23rd. The medical research company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.86 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Quest Diagnostics had a net margin of 9.23% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Quest Diagnostics will post 8.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,067,904.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Quest Diagnostics news, EVP Catherine T. Doherty sold 821 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.14, for a total value of $103,560.94. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 70,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,930,712. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Vicky B. Gregg sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.64, for a total transaction of $316,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,067,904.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 15,150 shares of company stock valued at $1,913,202 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.79% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Quest Diagnostics

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Altshuler Shaham Ltd bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Quest Diagnostics during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Quest Diagnostics by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 218 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in Quest Diagnostics in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 88.06% of the company’s stock.

Quest Diagnostics Company Profile

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated provides diagnostic testing and services in the United States and internationally. The company develops and delivers diagnostic information services, such as routine, non-routine and advanced clinical testing, anatomic pathology testing, and other diagnostic information services.